Arrangement having plural temperature-control stations for heat treating component parts, and their handling

Abstract

The present invention relates to an arrangement for heat treating component parts. The arrangement has a first temperature control station for heat treating component parts and a second temperature control station for heat treating component parts, wherein the first temperature control station and the second temperature control station each have a temperature control device, on each of which a functional device is placeable. The functional device is a charging device for carrying component parts to be temperature-controlled or a device of the temperature control device. The arrangement further has a charging station, on which the functional device is placeable, and a handling system for handling the functional device, wherein the handling system is configured to convey the functional device between the charging station, the first temperature control station and the second temperature control station.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application is a national phase application derived from the international patent application no. PCT / EP2019 / 052343, filed Jan. 31, 2019, which in turn claims the benefits of the filing dates of the German patent application no. DE 10 2018 103 145.9, filed Feb. 13, 2018, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The present invention relates to an arrangement having plural temperature control stations for heat treating component parts, and a method for heat treating component parts in plural temperature control stations.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]In stationary industrial furnaces, such as hood-type furnaces, a base of the hood-type furnace is first loaded with a batch (or charge) of component parts to be heated. Subsequently, an appropriate furnace hood is placed over the batch so that the furnace hood together with the base forms an annealing chamber. The annealing chamber can ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0030]With a circular apposition, the stations may be placed closely around the handling system. The handling system may thus reach each station over a short distance without having to perform long translatory movements. If the handling system is placed in the center and / or center point of the circular apposition, the handling system may rotate and adjust itself to a desired station due to the rotating of its orientation. Subsequently, the handling system, for example with its base frame and / or the gripper frame, may be moved out of the center in a translatory motion in the direction of the respective station in order to place or remove the corresponding functional devices, such as the charged component parts or the furnace hoods.

[0031]With a ring or ring segment arrangement according to the embodiment example described above, short transfer paths and thus short charging times may be achieved.

[0050]In a further exemplary embodiment, furthermore, a further third guide structure may, with a corresponding third guide carriage, also be fixed to the base body. In this way, plural fixing points with the functional device may be produced, and accordingly, a robust coupling may be achieved.

[0056]Because the first and second guide structure and their movable fastening device may form a rigid unit, the functional units may be positioned extremely accurately relative to each other. In conventional use of a crane for transporting functional units, the functional units may swing and / or sway on the crane rope, so that an exact alignment of the functional units relative to each other may be extremely difficult and time-consuming. By the rigid unit of the handling system described above, a centering of the furnace hoods and / or a relative alignment of the functional units relative to each other may be facilitated.

[0068]With the arrangement according to the invention, there may thus be provided a (partially) automated solution, in which plural component parts defined above, for example stacks of wire coils, may be supplied or removed simultaneously. In particular, the entire handling process of the component parts on the one hand and the equipment of the temperature control devices (e.g. of furnace hoods) on the other hand may be carried out by the innovative handling and charging equipment (i.e. the handling system), and thus, for example, may completely replace a crane. In particular, by the arrangement, travel distances of a charging device may be reduced due to the described arrangement of the stations.

[0069]The heat treatment of component parts, e.g. wire coils, may be carried out in the temperature control devices in the temperature control stations, which may be e.g. operable in the manner of hood-type furnaces, chamber furnaces or continuous furnaces. In the case of a hood-type furnace as temperature control device, coils of wire as component parts may be stacked in plural stacks on a furnace base. To avoid damage to the wire coils, this may be done in plural tiers from a certain stacking height onwards. In further process steps, protective, cooling and heating hoods may then be placed over the stacked coils in an appropriate sequence. The charging, i.e. the supplying to and removing of wire coils from the furnace, for example, may take −10% of the total process time. The entire handling of the wire coils as well as the different hoods may often be carried out by large cranes. In order to reduce the charging times, the handling system and the arrangement according to the invention are described. In an exemplary embodiment, the handling system may function as a rail-guided lift truck so that a base frame of the handling system may be configured movably on guide rails on the floor. The handling system may, on the one hand, de-charge the entire annealed charge from the annealing base in one work step, and, in a further work step, may load the furnace (temperature control station) with the entire new charge, and may handle (or effect) the entire hood handling (cooling hood including protective hood and / or heating hood). The individual work steps may be to be carried out using different attachments and / or set-on devices (e.g. the gripper unit described or the guide structures), which may be placed on the lift truck and / or base frame.

Problems solved by technology

This requires a high degree of accuracy and results in that the placing of the furnace hoods needs a high expenditure of time.

Such a long set-up time reduces the effectiveness of the hood-type furnace.

During the placing of the individual crown supports, the hood-type furnace cannot be operated, so that a long set-up time is required.

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